Salvia greggii, a member of the plant family Lamiaceae, is native to central and southwest Texas and south through the highlands of the Chihuahuan Desert in Mexico. Salvia greggii, which is also known as Autumn Sage, produces shrubby growth, ultimately reaching 1-3 ft tall×2-4 feet wide. Plants flower almost year around in mild climates, producing ¼-1 inch long tubular flowers which attract hummingbirds. Flower color varies from the typical reds found in the wild to white, pink, yellow and shades of purple in cultivated varieties.
Autumn sage has been cultivated in Texas as early as 1885, becoming popular in the southwestern United States as a landscape shrub about 85 years later and subsequently as a landscape shrub and as an annual flowering bedding plant worldwide. Many cultivars and hybrids have been produced, many including parentage from the closely related Salvia microphylla, which has a much larger adaptational range as well as more variability as a species.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Salvia greggii named ‘Ruby Slippers’. The cultivar originated as a seedling selection from offspring of the unpatented cultivar ‘Lipstick’ planted in 2008. The resulting plant has a different colored flower from its parent, as well as improved heat tolerance and a more compact growth form and is the object of this application.